Innovative and Efficient Laboratory Management

Since most research activities involve laboratory work, there is need for efficient management of laboratory or test facilities to ensure quality-controlled research and cost-effective use of resources. It is obvious that good laboratory and research management skills are necessary for scientists and scholars involved directly or indirectly in industrial, clinical, or bioscience research and/or charged with management of laboratory facilities. The essence of this write-up is therefore to enhance good laboratory management practices that ensure stressless compliance with legal and regulatory frameworks for health and safety. The aim is to promote scientific excellence by highlighting the conditions and skills necessary for efficient and innovative management of laboratory facilities while enhancing consciousness and efficacy in cost-effective research management.

The issues addressed in the book include a proposal of the administrative setup of a laboratory or test facility, laboratory design considerations, which obviously have a significant impact on the quality of results generated. The principles of good laboratory practices and the importance of biosafety and biosecurity are specially addressed.

The author also reiterates the importance of a procurement strategy for each laboratory or test facility, whose aim should be to set out a planned approach for cost-effective purchasing of required goods and services, taking into account several factors such as the timeline for procurement, the funding and budget and the projected risks and opportunities. Here, the need for a defined and documented policy and procedures for selection and use of purchased external goods and services in addition to an inventory control system for laboratory supplies is highlighted. Laboratory operators need to have an overview of different categories and types of laboratory equipment at their disposal with good knowledge of their safe handling, operation, and maintenance following well-set schedules. Besides this concern, the book also dwells on laboratory information management system (LIMS), which is an important and integral part of laboratory operations relevant for efficient laboratory management.

A whole chapter is consecrated to quality control (QC), quality assurance (QA) and total quality management (TQM) as the three major elements of quality, which effectively sets the stage for laboratory accreditation, which demonstrates legitimacy and credibility of research results. In fact, laboratory accreditation is the process by which an independent and authorized agency certifies the quality system and competence of a laboratory on the basis of certain predefined standards. It is the formal recognition, authorization, and registration of a laboratory that has demonstrated its capability, competence and credibility to carry out the tasks it is claiming to be able to do. In this book, the reader will discover the whole process of laboratory accreditation with the various agencies involved as well as the benefits of laboratory accreditation.

The book closes up with ethical issues in research management. It is obvious that the consideration of ethics in research should enhance mature decision-making in harmony with changing technology. The chapter on this issue points out the fact that efficient research and laboratory management must be based on ethical principles that guarantee all stakeholders access to the benefits of new technologies with increased understanding of biological systems and responsible use of technology. Some basic guidelines are given at the end on how to implement knowledge gained from the book to efficiently run a modern laboratory or research facility.